Sri Ramakrishna - The Great Master by Swami Saradananda [1080 Pages, A Detailed Biography] (1) r

1080 Pages·2011·19.75 MB·English

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SRI RAMAKRISHNA
THE GREAT MASTER

Originally written in

Bengali in five volumes
BY SWAMI SARADANANDA
A DIRECT DISCIPLE OF THE MASTER
SRI RAMAKRISHNA
THE GREAT MASTER

TRANSLATED
by
SWAMI JAGADANANDA

é

SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATIL

MYLAPORB 5 MADRAS
INDIA
Pentiaed by
THE PRESIDENT
SRL RAMAKRISHNA. MATH
"MYLAPORP. MADRAS

SRI RAMAKRISHKA IBE GREAT MASTER
& Comprinht, 1982, by the Presiden, Sri Ramakrishna Meath,
Mvlepore, Mediassé

All rights tie book are reserved. Na part of the book may be
reproduced in any manner vibiout writen permission except in
the caze cf bri quotations embodied in evDied arcley ond reviews

Foyer Barrio
SAC B70

Peat
= “THe JUPITER PRESS PRIVATE LD,

vine: Peg ARD: MADRAS
wr ah @ 4 fala @ fa ave: |
ewer 2 gar AA aA AST

Whosoever knows, in the true light, My divine birth and
action will not be bor again when he leaver kis body: he will
auigin Me, Q Arjuna.

Gita, V9

a ae af oat ately aay |
ma wenigadt agian oh ale: 1

In whatsoever way men approach Me, even so do
reward them (for it is) My path, O son of Pritha, (that) men
tread, in all things.

Gita, 1-11
Rist aisiaeaR
sraraint aaparit cepa & an

"Salutation to you, O Ramakrishna, the Reinstator of
all Religions, the Embediment of all Religions, the Great
Master among all the Masters."

— Swami Saradananda
PUBLISHER'S NOTE TO THE FIRST EDITION

We have much pleasure iri presenting to the public "Sri Rama
krishna the Great Master"—the most comprehensive, authentic
and critical estimate of the fife, Sadhana and teachings of
Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, Sixtysix yours have rolled down the
streath of time since Sri Ramakrishna leit the mortal coil. But
the wave of spirituality raised by his life, has touched even the
distant shores of both the hemispheres and is resurgent stil in all.
its native potency in the thought-life of the diflerent countries of
the civilized world of today. In India his name bas become a
Household word, a symbol of hope and solace and a sacred
Mantra to conjure with, His inspired utterances have brought
light where utter darkness prevailed before, solace to many
suffering soul and peace to many a distracted mind. The life
which could have such a marvellous inlluence within suctt a short
period, it is needless to say, is of unproeedented potency, whose
Tull depth and significance it will take ages to get revealed to
tumanity.

Descriptions of this wonderful life were given to the world
by his various disciples and admirers from time to time in dillerent
Fanguages since his disappearance from the earth. But none of
them embodied a detailed accouot of this unique personatiy.
Scimat Swami Sarsdanandaji Maharaj, & dircct disciple of
Sti Ramakrishna, and General Secretary of the Ramakrishna
Math and Mission from ils very beginning to his passing away in
1927, feeling the necessity of such a biography, brought ont five
volumes in Bengali under the caption of Sri Sri Rummakrishnw Lita
prasanga, which contain many unpublished details of the life of
the Master and can fairly be called an exhaustive treatmeat of the
subject. The Swami wanted to write an English version of his
Bengali work, and, in fact, fe translated a few chapters which
vi SRI RAMAKRISHNA THE GREAT MASTER.

appeared in the two periodicals of the Mission, the Vedanta
Kesarl and the Prabuddha Bharata, but owing to his illness ant
various other cuuses, he could not complete the work. ‘The eager-
ness of the general public outside Bengal to know more details of
the wonderful life of the Master was being felt keenly and we
thought we would be doing some service to our cager readers, if
‘not to humanity at large, if we would present them with a Zaithful
and literal English translation of the beautiful Bengali biography.

Srimat Swami Jagadanandaji, a very senior and learned
monk of our Order, accepted at our request this Herculean task
of translating the whole work of five volumes into English and
left us under a deep debt of gratitude. It is a matter of great
regret that he passed away last December before this remarkable
work of his devotion could see the light of day. He took up this
translation when he was verging on seventy, but finished the work
jin an incredibly short time und passed i¢ on to the Edicors. A.
disciple of the Holy Mother, one who knew the revered Swami
Saradanandaji Mahacaj and many other ditect disciples of Sri
Ramakrishna intimately, the Swami is known to many readers of
or literature and students of Vedanta as very good teacher of
the Scriptures, as the anonymous editor of many religious books
and as the translator of some Yedantic Text-books like Sri San:
karacharya’e Upadesha Sahasri. His illuminative classes were a
treat to oll, young and old, fay and monastic, students in the
Uttarakhand. One would always notice in him a happy but rare
combination of Joana and Bhakti. Untiring in work, uncompro-
mising in his sdherence (o the Siddhanlas (conclusions) of
‘Vedanta be was throughout conspicuous by his great devotion
to the Master and the Holy Mother,

Swami Nirvedsnanda, the learned writer of * Sri Ramu-
krishna and Spiritual Renaissance * (in the Cuhural Heritage
of India, Vol. 1) and other books, has written a short but
beautiful life of Srimat Swami Suradanandaji Maharaj. This
will give the reader an inkling of the real personality of the
Author of the book and will partly serve the purpose of an
introduction to it, We ate much bebolden to ‘him for this
valuable addition to this work,
PUBLISHER'S NOTE ix

Prof. K. Subcamanyam, M.A. LT, Vice-Principal,
Vivekananda College, Madras, has kindly gone through the
eutire manuscript and pas ably edited i€ for us, He deserves
our hearty thanks for this noble act.

Dr. Nandalal Bosc, the famous artist of Santiniketan
(Visva-bharati), ban very Kindly drawn the Dust cover (Pancha:
wath at Dakshinaswar) as a lanour of Jove. We are indeed
grateful to hie.

In bringing out such a big volume, we have reveived,
substantial help i various ways frou many lay and monastic
friends who prefer to remain unknown soldiers. We offer our
sincere (hanks to thet

Diacritical marks have not been used in the body of the
book, but they have been explained and the pronunciation of
important Indian words has been shown with diaerities in the
Index,

A word about the book itself: Srf Sri Ramakrishna Lila
prasanga holds a place, unique of its kind in hagiography. ‘the
Jife-story of a divine personality worshipped by millions as an
Incarnation of Goll has -never been written in this wise by yay
tone of his apostles. Yet the reader will notice how the author has
made the book so reliable and interesting by giving it a, modern
touch and using the scientific method all through. The book is
not simply a biegraphy of the latest Incarnation of the modem
age; it combines a Biography with a lucid study of the various
cults of religion, mysticism and philosophy ‘obtaining in India
and clsewhere from the prehistoric times down to the modern
era. The Subject-matter, the life of Sri Ramakrishna, is nothing
short of an encyclopaedia of celigion and philosuphy.

Tt will not be out of place to make some mention of the
Tantras, the sacred literature of the Shaktas of Bengal and alsc-
where, Sir Jon Woodroffe alias Arthur Avalon, and his Indian
collaborators fhave made the Tanteas parlly available to the
English-tcading public, As they have used-the scientific method,
their studies of the Tautras have much appeal to the modera mind.
Sci Ramakrishna practised all the disciplines enjoined in the
sixty-four principal Tanteas under the guidance of a good teacher.
x SRI RAMAKRISHNA THE GREAT MASTER

Some practices of the Tantras known as “loft” which were not
entirely ruled out by Sri Ramakrishna have been actually re
oriented by him. Much of modern scientific teaching is consonant
with the fundamental teaching of the Tanttas, ‘Things or practices
which seem repulsive to the modern mind are not actually 20,
Readers, endowed with an exalted vision and the modem spirit
of enquiry info trath, will be able to understand that the Tantric
aspirants’ practices involving contacts with what arc termed lowly,
bad, ugly and vulgar, helped them to sublimate (o the extent of
snaking them realize the divine power which is always high, true,
good and beautiful, We crave the thoughtfulness of the readers
in their study of the Tantric chapter of Sri Rumakrisma’s
Sadhana as we have not sacrificed the beauty and the substance
of that episode to satisty the claims of “ modern" taste.

A right attitude is also necessary t0 enter into the spirit
of Sri Ramakrishna’s Sadhana according to the Madhura Bhava
of the Vaishnava school. We trust our teaders will never lack it
“Where you cannot unriddle, Iearn to teust” is an adage that
aay be very helpful here. There is cothing queer or strange in
the fights of the genius of one of the greatest muster mystics of
the world like Sri Ramakrishna,

May a serious perusal of this cew book inspire humanity
to take a step forward on its march to Tenth !

Sri Ramakrishna Math PUBLISHER
‘Mylapore, Madras-4
‘October, 1952,